Wing on the verge of an England comeback could face misconduct charge after
claims he shouted at fly-half during conversion

In with a shout: Chris Ashton starts to celebrate as he breaks clear to score a try against Harlequins in the Premiership semi-finalPhoto: ACTION IMAGES

By Gavin Mairs, Rugby news Correspondent

10:00PM BST 18 May 2014

Chris Ashton could be banned from this weekend’s Heineken Cup final after he was heard shouting as Harlequins fly-half Nick Evans attempted a conversion in the Aviva Premiership semi-final on Saturday.

The Rugby Football Union has ordered an investigation into an incident at the end of the first half, which could result in a misconduct charge for the Saracens wing. And if he is found guilty a ban could follow.

The incident sparked a melee at the end of the first half after Ashton was believed to shout “push it” as he ran towards Evans in an attempt to distract his conversion attempt.

The investigation, ordered by Gerard McEvilly, the RFU’s head of discpline, is not a citing, so he is not bound by the normal 24-hour period following the game for the charge to be made. He will determine whether the incident merits a misconduct charge or a possible written warning.

Ashton, who is set to return to the England squad for the tour of New Zealand next month after a string of impressive displays, could also face a talk about his behaviour from Stuart Lancaster, the England head coach.

When Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea was asked about the incident he said: “Humility is up on the walls here and around the stadium, and honesty. It wasn’t part of what you would expect someone to do, but we leave it. They are worthy finalists, worthy winners. Move on.”

The incident however should not overshadow what was another highly-impressive display by Saracens.Their 31-17 victory, which included a sweetly crafted second-half try by Ashton, kept them on track for a Heineken Cup and Premiership double.

Saturday’s victory took Saracens to date with Northampton, narrow victors over Leicester at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night, in the final at Twickenham on May 31. Yet when Mark McCall’s squad reassemble at their St Albans training base today, their sole focus will be the Heineken Cup final against Toulon at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

The full extent of Steve Borthwick’s shoulder injury that forced him to retire in the final quarter on Saturday should also be established amid fears that the former England captain, who retires at the end of the season, may miss both finals.

The club’s previous 15-a-side honours have been limited to winning the old Tetley’s Bitter Cup in 1998 and the Premiership title in 2011. The challenge of achieving the feat only managed previously by Leicester (2001 and 2002) and Wasps (2004) is will test the club’s resources to the full. But Billy Vunipola, for one, is confident they are capable of managing it.

“I think we have the firepower to do it and we have the coaches who can come up with a plan to turn these teams over,” said Vunipola, whose ball-carrying prowess has been so important in transforming the side who lost both European and Premiership semi-finals last season.

“The games we have played against Northampton in the league will not count for anything come May 31,” Vunipola said. “The same for the win over Clermont [in the Heineken Cup semi-final]. Toulon are a very good team. I know they have superstars littered in their team but they are also a great team. They can suffocate you – they did it to Munster, they did it to Racing Métro on Friday night.”

What will have heartened McCall is that his players demonstrated composure and a ruthless instinct in forcing their way back into this contest after Harlequins had taken a 17-11 lead at half-time.

Saracens also had to cope with being reduced to 13 men in the first half when first Marcelo Bosch and then Matt Stevens were sent to the sin bin, for a dangerous tackle and deliberate knock-on respectively.

“The danger for us is that it would have destroyed us and brought out some demons from last season, but it did the reverse,” McCall said. “It made us more determined and I thought our second-half performance was exceptional.”

While Harlequins at times sustained a tempo that threatened to rattle their London opponents, Saracens were ultimately comfortable winners. That they managed to strike back with a try by Kelly Brown, who pushed Vunipola hard for the man-of-the-match award, to reduce their arrears while they still had two men in the sin-bin was indicative of their resolve.